Nice work grizzly, stem turns to be a piece of charm, it is really fantastic. Did you contacted Savinelli through email?
My grandfather gave me a 20 year old + Savinelli
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I completed the restoration today; I will give it 2-3 days to completely dry out before I try to smoke it. For the stem I used barkeeper's friend and elbow grease, then a bath in bleach, then again I scrubbed it down with barkeeper's friend. Finally I used 800 grit sandpaper; I plan on using some higher grit later on. For the bowl I gave it a good spit shine with an old clean rag. It took quite a bit of work around the rim to get the charring off, but I think it was worth it. I also discovered XXX on the back of the shank while I was cleaning it; sorry I couldn't get a clear picture it is pretty worn. Is this a grade? I plan on sending this pictures to Savinelli in an email; so maybe they can give me some information on it.
Ok, here is what you guys really want. Pictures!
Ok, here is what you guys really want. Pictures!
@grizzly...never mind friend, hope they will provide all needed info. Don't forget to update us when receive the info.
Take a look to this thread i posted before, it includes the email i've recieved to Savinelli at last post
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/estate-savinelli-partner-de-luxe-with-stem-extension
Take a look to this thread i posted before, it includes the email i've recieved to Savinelli at last post
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/estate-savinelli-partner-de-luxe-with-stem-extension
Gorgeous pipe there!
And, if there was a man selling pipes door-to-door... I would invite that guy in for a couple cups of coffee and a smoke! It would be a pleasure to see a random stranger at my door that I actually would be interested in talking to.
And, if there was a man selling pipes door-to-door... I would invite that guy in for a couple cups of coffee and a smoke! It would be a pleasure to see a random stranger at my door that I actually would be interested in talking to.
Well, I ended up sending two different email to Savinelli and still haven't received a reply. With the pipe not having any hallmarks I wasn't expecting an exact year of production on the pipe, but at least a range. I am a little disappointed that Savinelli didn't even try to get back to me.
I have a few Nonpareils, and can offer you some general information which might help you roughly date the pipe. I am speaking from memory and have not reviewed this issue for some time, so please forgive me if I any of this turns out to be slightly off base. There are two very rough ways to date nonpareils (and I do mean rough, as in by decade). First, they have not made that model in a smooth finish for some time - I believe not since the 80's. Second, they were originally made with a horn ring, but that later changed to lucite. I believe that I own at least one of each, and frankly it is hard to tell which is which. I believe that the earlier, horn models had a metal ring instead of the later plastic one on the inside. Second, the horn develops microcracks or seams which the lucite does not develop.
The numbers correspond to specific shapes, and they only offered these pipes in a limited number of shapes. There are a selection of these in the 1979 Iwan Reis catalog that you can see on Chris' pipe pages, as one of their house brand pipes, but they identify them as nonpareils made for them by Savinelli. They were charging $80.00 for them back then (probably a little cheaper than the genuine Savinelli), and identified them as still having the horn ferrule.
They are really nice pipes, and smoke very well. My only gripe, as with all Savinelli's, is that the briar quality declined significantly as the years went by, and this is noticeable in the later smooth finish pipes, where they began to sneak fills in and allowed other imperfections which were not present on the earlier pipes.
You did a great job on the clean-up. The only word of caution that I would offer is to not use the sand paper now that you have the oxidation off. These are thin bits and you will wear down the vulcanite. You can buy really nice pipe stem cleaner from walker briar works which will take off the oxidation but is much less abrasive. Now that you have it clean, use a thin coat of plain carnuba wax (also available from Walkers), or, at a minimum, use the spray briar wipe that you spray on a cloth first, and allow to dry, and then you can use the cloth for several months. I use both - the carnuba once in a while, and the impregnated cloth after every smoke. You should not have any problems with oxidation. With the carnuba, you use it just like on your car - put it on, let it dry, and then buff it off. Finally, I use a rubber bit on every pipe. I guess my teeth are sharp because I leave marks without them, no matter how lightly I smoke. They allow you to hold the pipe in your mouth without worrying about biting through eventually.
Good luck, and enjoy your pipe. Now you just need a sandblast finish to match it! (and then a straight in the smooth finish, and then one of each shape, etc, etc.)
The numbers correspond to specific shapes, and they only offered these pipes in a limited number of shapes. There are a selection of these in the 1979 Iwan Reis catalog that you can see on Chris' pipe pages, as one of their house brand pipes, but they identify them as nonpareils made for them by Savinelli. They were charging $80.00 for them back then (probably a little cheaper than the genuine Savinelli), and identified them as still having the horn ferrule.
They are really nice pipes, and smoke very well. My only gripe, as with all Savinelli's, is that the briar quality declined significantly as the years went by, and this is noticeable in the later smooth finish pipes, where they began to sneak fills in and allowed other imperfections which were not present on the earlier pipes.
You did a great job on the clean-up. The only word of caution that I would offer is to not use the sand paper now that you have the oxidation off. These are thin bits and you will wear down the vulcanite. You can buy really nice pipe stem cleaner from walker briar works which will take off the oxidation but is much less abrasive. Now that you have it clean, use a thin coat of plain carnuba wax (also available from Walkers), or, at a minimum, use the spray briar wipe that you spray on a cloth first, and allow to dry, and then you can use the cloth for several months. I use both - the carnuba once in a while, and the impregnated cloth after every smoke. You should not have any problems with oxidation. With the carnuba, you use it just like on your car - put it on, let it dry, and then buff it off. Finally, I use a rubber bit on every pipe. I guess my teeth are sharp because I leave marks without them, no matter how lightly I smoke. They allow you to hold the pipe in your mouth without worrying about biting through eventually.
Good luck, and enjoy your pipe. Now you just need a sandblast finish to match it! (and then a straight in the smooth finish, and then one of each shape, etc, etc.)
@marosi Thanks for that information. I hope to get a few more nonpareil when I have the funds. This one must be the lucite as there are no cracks and the ring is plastic.
Welcome to the forums. Make sure to post up a new thread and introduce yourself to everyone. Looking forward to reading more posts from you.
Welcome to the forums. Make sure to post up a new thread and introduce yourself to everyone. Looking forward to reading more posts from you.
Grizzly,
I wish I had more info. It is difficult to get good information on these savinelli pipes, and that is too bad, because I think people are going to concentrate on those from the mid-eighties and earlier because the quality of the new pipes is just not the same, at least not without spending several hundred dollars. The briar on your pipe would not be found today before you hit the linea artisan or autograph lines, both of which are pretty expensive when new.
I have never had a nonpareil that was not a great smoker. They were really well constructed, and the shapes that they used all had nice thick bowls and an easy draw. Another super great Sav from the 70's that you can pick up for a good price are the Linea 76's. These were moderately expensive pipes offered in the 70's, I think to celebrate a 100 year anniversary or something. They then offered a bunch of the sandblast models in the early to mid 2000's, claiming that they had found them in their warehouse. Regardless, they are fantastic pipes, and you can buy them now for less than they sold for new in the 70's. The original offering was in both smooth and sandblast finishes, and the second round (which, again, were supposedly new old old stock from the 70's) was only the sandblast models. Great, great smoking pipes, and you can get them for 30-50 dollars on Ebay (maybe more for the smooths, they seem to be developing a following). I do not say this to brag, but I have quite a few high end hand made pipes, and these savinelli's smoke as good or better than most of them, including most of my autographs! They are that good. Lets face it, for most of us there are a bunch of pipes that we want, but cannot afford, and it is important to remember that smoking quality has very little to do with price, at least once you get past the really low end, crappy stuff. I can promise you that I reach for my 76's or nonpareils two or three times more often than a number of fancy pipes that I have that look great, but just don't have the mojo when it comes to providing a truly great smoke.
Now that you have developed your refurb skills, you can get crazy deals on ebay on pipes that need a little TLC, but will look and smoke fantastic once you bring them back to life.
p.s. - I actually have the sandblast version of your pipe, and I really like it. It is in my office for clandestine weekend smoking.
I wish I had more info. It is difficult to get good information on these savinelli pipes, and that is too bad, because I think people are going to concentrate on those from the mid-eighties and earlier because the quality of the new pipes is just not the same, at least not without spending several hundred dollars. The briar on your pipe would not be found today before you hit the linea artisan or autograph lines, both of which are pretty expensive when new.
I have never had a nonpareil that was not a great smoker. They were really well constructed, and the shapes that they used all had nice thick bowls and an easy draw. Another super great Sav from the 70's that you can pick up for a good price are the Linea 76's. These were moderately expensive pipes offered in the 70's, I think to celebrate a 100 year anniversary or something. They then offered a bunch of the sandblast models in the early to mid 2000's, claiming that they had found them in their warehouse. Regardless, they are fantastic pipes, and you can buy them now for less than they sold for new in the 70's. The original offering was in both smooth and sandblast finishes, and the second round (which, again, were supposedly new old old stock from the 70's) was only the sandblast models. Great, great smoking pipes, and you can get them for 30-50 dollars on Ebay (maybe more for the smooths, they seem to be developing a following). I do not say this to brag, but I have quite a few high end hand made pipes, and these savinelli's smoke as good or better than most of them, including most of my autographs! They are that good. Lets face it, for most of us there are a bunch of pipes that we want, but cannot afford, and it is important to remember that smoking quality has very little to do with price, at least once you get past the really low end, crappy stuff. I can promise you that I reach for my 76's or nonpareils two or three times more often than a number of fancy pipes that I have that look great, but just don't have the mojo when it comes to providing a truly great smoke.
Now that you have developed your refurb skills, you can get crazy deals on ebay on pipes that need a little TLC, but will look and smoke fantastic once you bring them back to life.
p.s. - I actually have the sandblast version of your pipe, and I really like it. It is in my office for clandestine weekend smoking.
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